Quote:
Originally posted by jaguar
So he gets a handgun, and since he'll probably have it out first, you're now more screwed becease he has more chance of shooting you if you try to pull it out.
|
I'd rather go up a against a thug (no matter how he's armed) with a gun of my own than without. I'm better off gun vs. gun than nothing vs. baseball bat or lead pipe or knife. ("He'll probably have it out first" is an assumption, too; tactics are more complicated than that.)
Thugs are cowards (otherwise they wouodn't be thugs); when the populace is armed there's a strong disincentive to attempt. As you point out, thungs aren't really interested in killing people; if a nice quiet mugging turns into a gun battle they're way behind the curve. It tends to create the sort of intense police interest here you mentioned is supposed to happen in AU when a gun crime goes down.
The idea that law-abiding citizens are somehow safer if they're disarmed is just plain bogus. It's an idea mostly championed by people who already have their own armed guards, like police chiefs and politicians.
06-09-2002, 06:13 AM
Threaded Mode